It Face
by kaihil lover
Summary: Hiromi's peaceful day alone at the dojo gets ruined, when she comes home to find 'it' in the house; and worse, the Bladebreakers refuse to come help her out, heck, they're working in cahoots with 'it'.


_**It Face**_

Hiromi walked over the steps that led to the front door of the dojo, humming a random tune. For some reason, she was in an awfully good mood and she didn't think anyone, not even Daichi, could ruin it. Something good was going to happen today; she was sure of it. She hadn't felt this elated in quite some time.

The key to the lock was in her pocket and it took her about half a minute to unlock the door and enter the house. The boys were all at an arcade, and since she was not one for video games, she had intended on spending time with some friends from school, but after a few hours, she was far too tired, and had decided on going home to be alone for the night. Ah, sweet and silent bliss; it was going to be good being all alone, with no one making any racket or getting on her nerves.

The light in the living room was switched on and Hiromi felt something was off the second she noticed that. Her humming stopped and she grew far more alert than she originally was. There was a very good chance that someone had left the switch on, but it was better to be take precaution than cure, particularly since she was alone and it was quite late in the evening.

Silently, Hiromi made her way across the hall and over to the half-closed door leading into the should-not-have-been-lit living room. A deep breath to mentally prepare herself, and a second later, she had kicked open the door, which slammed against the wooden wall, revealing the living room in full view along with the occupant who had apparently switched on the light – there, for the first time in four years, sitting smugly on the sofa, in all his I'm-a-God-bow-down-to-me-and-pray glory, like he fucking owned the place _and_ her, was Kai Hiwatari, looking at her lazily with his signature smirk present on his face.

Hiromi's jaw dropped all the way to the floor – hypothetically – as she stared at the egocentric teen in front of her. She couldn't believe this! Now?! Now when she was finally moving on from him, there he was, right in front of her once again, back and ready to hurt her once more, making all the memories she had tried so hard to repress surface up. She was going to murder him for having the nerve to show her his face again!  
"You?" she growled, pointing at him accursedly, "What the hell are you doing here?!"

Before Kai could open his mouth to answer, Hiromi growled loudly. "Ugh," she snarled, grabbing her head in frustration, still gawking at her former captain who was sitting on the sofa like a freaking Greek God and regarding her with narrowed eyes like she had finally lost her sanity.

Oh no! She was _not _the crazy one, she was completely fine. _He_ was the one who was crazy; crazy and stupid, thinking he could barge back into his old friends' life and expect to be accepted just like that in an eye blink by them – by her! Oh no, he was completely wrong! Behind that extremely attractive head of his, the brain had finally stopped responding. That, or he was much more stupid than she had originally expected.

Screw the crush she had on him for so long, and the fact that she was far more elated than before – furious, but still elated – at seeing him; he was _not_ getting away with anything he expected to get away with! She didn't want to say his name much less have anything to do with him. She didn't want to even believe in regarding him like a fellow human being.

She had finally gotten out of the shock enough to take out her cell phone and dial the first number she could hit on speed dial. It was Max.

She wanted someone to get that thing with the blue triangles out of her sight, before she either killed him or jumped him. Both urges seemed pretty strong right now, and she'd be in a heck lot of trouble if she attempted either. She did not want to be arrested for assault, physical or sexual; and if she knew Kai, he would probably report her, just for the amusement of seeing her suffer. That sadist! She couldn't understand what he wanted from them, other than the urge to see them suffer, why the hell was he back?

Max picked up the phone; finally!

The only thing she could hear from the other side was the beeping of a few dozen video games and people shouting in the background, one of which she could be distinctly identified as Daichi even above the howling crowd. She ignored all of it.

Turning her head slightly towards the side to face away from Kai, Hiromi started with her hyperventilating explanation, "_It_ is in the house!" She hissed in a strained voice. "I am alone here with _it_; get back to the dojo!" Standing still at the doorway, her face was turned away from Kai, who was cocking an eyebrow at her behavior, still doubting her sanity, and still smirking that damned smirk of his!

"Hiromi, huh?" was the only response that came from a befuddled Max, muffled from the beeping of the arcade games, serving just to fuel Hiromi's anger. "_It_, what _it_? Tell me, who's _it_?"

Before she could take out her anger out on poor, unsuspecting Maxie, the phone was snatched by Tyson who was luckily near by and had heard Max's confused rambling and realized what was going on. "You're kidding me?" Hiromi could hear the astonishment in his voice. "_It _is really here? Where's here?"

"Here's here, you idiot!" Hiromi snapped, slightly grateful that Tyson remembered her resentment and weariness towards the man in front of her, and that his name was strictly taboo, "The dojo, in the same room as me."

"Wow," the dragoon-wielder muttered at a lack of a better response. "So, like, you and he are together? In the dojo?"

"Not amusing, Tyson, you know how bad this is for me." Hiromi's words lowered to a whisper towards the end before being continued in a much louder voice. "Get your ass down here and get rid of _it _before I snap _its _neck off!"

Kai narrowed his eyes at the last comment and continued staring at the brunette in front of him amusedly. Her anger had always been entertaining for him…_it. _He couldn't help but be amused by her irritation. Still, he was the one who was at fault; he had made her so resentful. He had to make things right with her, and he would definitely do it. In midst of fulfilling his own selfish desires, he had ignored her and disregarded her feelings, he would be damned if he didn't fix things now. She mattered more than she could ever imagine, his feelings for her were beyond his control and she of all people had a right to know this.

Quite a few seconds had passed and there was no response from the other side of the line sans the sound of video games Max's muffled voice asking who _it face_ is."Tyson!" Hiromi growled impatiently, shifting uncomfortably under Kai's still-present gaze.

"Oh well," he answered chuckling, "you have fun with it-face; it would do you both good to get rid of some of all that pent up tension."

Hiromi's eyes widened as realization sunk in and her expression of shocked immediately turned into one of horror. "Tyson, you bastard, you knew didn't you?!"

There was a nervous laugh – and Hiromi knew that Tyson was probably scratching his head nervously; ooh, she wanted to rip it off – followed by, "You two crazy kids have fun. We'll be back much, much later! Bye!"

Hiromi let out an annoyed growl which sounded much more like a banshee shrieking. "Tyson, you son of a bitch, –" but before she could finish her threat, the former three-time world champ had already hung up on her.

She was back alone with Kai.

Hiromi shifted her weight nervously from one foot to the other. Oh boy, this was why she did not want to see Kai; her sanity, or whatever was left of it, as Kai probably assumed, could not take it. In spite of everything, she was still crazy for him, but she was so not ready to forgive him.

The man in question was silent, like he had been for the rest of the evening, still unashamedly staring at her with the utmost interest possible, with more concentration than she'd seen him show to anyone other than Dranzer. His gaze was unnerving her, draining her anger and making her feel uncomfortable, yet attracted, towards him.

What was the point of this whole thing, she couldn't understand. Kai had apparently convinced Tyson to arrange a meeting between the two of him and her, but why? There was also the question of why Tyson had acted like such a traitor and agreed, but as fun as resolving that would be, it was not as important.

Why was Kai here, back after all these years; and why did he want to see her alone? What were his reasons, reasons so genuine, that Tyson had agreed to leave her alone with him after how much she had gotten hurt by all his actions?

She could run, that was an open option. But somehow, she knew he would come after her. She knew he'd probably catch her too. But if he didn't, the regret of not knowing due to her own cowardice would haunt her for the rest of her life. It was best to face Kai and clear the bad waters and make it clear to him that she could not be friends with him, all that had happened was too much for her to let go of just like that.

Unintentional steps led Hiromi to the middle of the room without her knowing. Kai's smirk was gone and he was looking at her intensely; she wasn't ready for this confrontation, she wanted to sink into the ground and just disappear. Anger, frustration, embarrassment, and a slight bit of relief was making tears brink at the edges of her eyes, now that she knew she was stuck here and had to face him. She was trying to come across as strong, that his presence – or lack of it – didn't affect her, but she knew she was making a fool of herself.

There was no way she could contain all her emotions. For years she had been planning how she'd confront Kai and make him sorry for leaving her, for leaving them, all of it seemed to be in vain now, since she was completely losing her composure. Despite years of convincing herself to be indifferent, all wanted to do was to yell at him and tell him how much she loved him and how – with equal intensity – she hated him too; and that she hated him for leaving and was really glad that he was back, and that she never wanted him to leave again.

Fists balled at her side and teeth bit her lips to keep the tears from spilling. Hiromi was standing completely frozen, looking at the floor to hide her face, waiting for Kai to make a move.

Far too distraught by her emotional conflict, Hiromi didn't even notice when Kai got off the couch, took hold of both her hands and led her to the back to the sofa and sat himself next to her. It was only when she felt the pad of his thumb brush against her cheeks to wipe away a stray tear, that Hiromi realized that she was no longer standing in the middle of the room, but was sitting next to her old captain on the couch, their figures in contact and his hand wrapped around one of hers. Without looking up, she peaked at him through her lashes, he was _sorry_, there was no smugness in his features; they were soft and veiled with regret and repentance. He had suffered as much as she had.

"Kai," she said looking up at him, testing his name on her lips. It had been quite sometime since she said it out loud, much less addressed him with it. Ever since he disappeared a while after the BEGA fiasco, the only times she referred to him was as _it _or with a string of colorful curses spat with much acrimony, at rare times _he_, and on even rarer times, when she was feeling quite generous, _Hiwatari; _never his first name.

However, even after so many years, his name felt right on her tongue; still reflexive and ever so sweet. She wanted to say it again and again, and a thousand other things too, some she had previously prepared herself to, some that she just realized she wanted to, but his presence, and his blatant regret desire for redemption had made her resolve crumble to the point that she was tongue tied.

"Hiromi," his voice was pleading as he leaned towards her; she wanted to move back, but she couldn't pull herself away. "Please, try to talk to me."

Hiromi let out a choking sound from her mouth, trying to suppress a sob and Kai's grip on her hand immediately tightened. "What is there to talk about, Kai? What do you want me to say? How terrible it felt when you left me behind waiting?"

Kai flinched at her words and breathed a sigh; he knew this was not going to be easy, but he wasn't going to give up trying to make things right with Hiromi, not until she told him to let go, she was far too important to let go off one more time.

"I know I've made a lot of mistakes, I wish I hadn't…" he trailed off, running his free hand through his hair and pursing his lips.

Hiromi knew that it must be hard for him to say all that he had to, to try and convince her, just like it was hard for her to believe him, but just like he was letting go of his pride and trying to make amends to her, she couldn't help have faith in him. After all these years, she trusted him and she was ready to start over.

Even after all that she had suffered through, she didn't want to change a second of it; she could never wish for him to have not been in her life. All her excuses sounded stupid to her. She still wanted him back in her life, for now and forever. It was just inevitable, there was no way she could say no to him. She wanted to but there was no way that she_ could_; it wasn't a matter of choice.

Kai closed his eyes and tightening his grip on Hiromi's hands, he breathed, "I'm sorry," and that was all it took. All the defenses came crumbling down at the sound of those two simple words. Hiromi pulled her hand from his grip and lunged at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. Momentarily caught off, Kai just blinked as he felt Hiromi sob into his shirt. Only a few seconds later did he have the will to response; he wrapped his arms around her waist and rubbed her back with his hands.

All that had happened, and all that had led their relationship to be so screwed up, he couldn't change any of it. He couldn't completely get rid of her pain, but now that he had earned a second chance, he'd do anything to get things right; it wouldn't be a matter of choice… he would be damned before he left her again. He would never make her wait for him. He would find a way to never put her second again. He would never give her a reason to hate him again.

They would make it through because, this time, Hiromi wouldn't be the only one making an effort, he would be the one to pick up the shards he had left behind.

The second chance that he got, he wouldn't waste it; she was what he wanted and he wouldn't think of changing it for a second. He had realized his mistakes and she had forgiven her, nothing could ruin this now.

* * *

**Disclaimer: Do not own Beyblade.**

**AN: Hope everyone enjoyed. :P This was originally gonna be a _Kai X Hilary Drabble, _but it got way too long so I turned it into a one shot. :P **

**Thank you as always to _Dead-bY-n0w _for beta-ing it. Thank you to _Dead-bY-n0w, Rangerapprentice, cakg123 and Zonex Krypton _for reviewing _Echoes._**

**Review, please. :)**

**24th August, 2012. 09:50 p.m.**


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